Ariel Fernandez
Founder & Editor
[email protected]
With the retirement of the City of Coral Gables’ Assistant Finance Director for Management, Budget & Compliance Keith Kleiman scheduled for May of 2023, City Manager Peter Iglesias has decided to promote Assistant Public Works Director for Solid Waste Management, Paula Rodriguez, as his replacement.
Gables Insider learned of the move from sources at City Hall and was able to confirm it through the City’s Communications Director, Martha Pantin.
In a statement to Gables Insider, Pantin stated that “this is part of our ongoing talent development/succession planning process.”
Pantin informed Gables Insider that the Assistant Public Works Director for Solid Waste Management position has been listed in order to receive applicants, however, Rodriguez’s move to Management and Budget was not listed and done administratively.
Rodriguez is a veteran of the City of Miami Beach and Village of Bal Harbor, where she held several different positions before being hired by Coral Gables in 2016. She holds a bachelor’s degree in supervision and management from Miami Dade College.
Rodriguez was promoted to the Solid Waste position in February of 2022.
Although Rodriguez previously served as Management and Budget Analyst, sources at City Hall have informed Gables Insider that the move has been controversial among staff, who question whether Rodriguez has the proper credentials to hold the position.
The budget director will play a crucial role in the coming months as the City deals with what the City Manager recently stated are “numerous financial issues.”
Gables Insider‘s reporting of the Manager’s comments was called into question by the Mayor at the last City Commission meeting, adamantly stating that there are no financial issues. This has caused some to wonder whether Iglesias misled the Board in order to secure a positive vote while under oath, or whether the Commission is attempting to cover for Iglesias’ financial mismanagement.
As previously reported, under Iglesias the City authorized over $637,000 in raises to top executives, including himself, and has sought to sell TDRs, sold City assets to cover these expenses.
Background: Paula Rodriguez Promoted To Assistant Director Of Public Works For Solid Waste Management
Solid waste management or GARBAGE COLLECTOR is by far the most complex and critical department in a city like Coral Gables. Including the major, the commissioners, the managers and the staff. GARBAGE COLLECTORS operates daily the largest number of very complex and expensive equipment owned, rented, or leased by the city. Owning, renting, leasing and selling or trashing GARBAGE COLLECTORS VERY EXPENSIVE COMPLEX EQUIPMENT are complex and risky financial decisions that in the city of Coral Gables no other department faces.
Further, GARBAGE COLLECTORS go to work every day under whether conditions when, except for our PD and FRD heroes, all other city of CORAL GABLES employees stay home, with pay.
GARBAGE COLLECTORS WORK AND EQUIPMENT is the most regulated department of the City; under applicable FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND STATE STATUTES. It requires many and diverse licensed and certified highly intelligent and educated work force. THE GARBAGE COLLECTORS DP is not protected behind a portal maned by a CGPO. The GARBAGE COLLECTORS work is totally exposed to the enemy, oops to the residents, as all you know. The decision to select a GARBAGE COLLECTOR TO PUT IN CHARGE OF THE City of Coral Gables budget, given what some of the residents have been saying on a daily basis, IT IS SIMPLY GENIAL!
As a dedicated public servant in the City of Coral Gables; I come in day in and day out and give 110%. After reading all these hate comments, and calling all employees incompetent; not sure why I should even care. Its great how we support our garbage teams but what about all the men and women that do the day to day operations. Secondly; you don’t want to give the leaders raises but you expect them to be available 24/7 365 for major concerns or minor temper tantrums. I am sure every morning when you wake up in your Gables home, drive your fancy cars and buy your $7 latte on your way to work ; you are thanking God that nobody is judging you or challenging your job and families well being. I am ashamed to call myself a Gables resident. Sure the comments are going to tell me to move somewhere else, but I’m not the problem nor the Richie Rich want to be complaining all the time. BTW wake up call: everybody pays taxes not just the entitled residents of Coral Gables.
Well that is appropriate, the person in charge of garbage now in charge of our budget. The powers that be wanted a puppet in charge. The best candidate has no background in this area. Perfectly idiotic.
Is the tiny tyrant peter iglesias worth his salary?
Let’s see. Governor Ron Desantis’ salary is $130,000.00.
The tiny tyrant’s salary is more than $230,000.00.
Thus, the tiny tyrant’s salary is $100,000.00 more than the Governor’s, even though the tiny tyrant’s job is much, much smaller.
So, what is the tiny tyrant really worth?
Since I pay taxes in Coral Gables and those taxes pay the tiny tyrant, I think I have a voice in this matter.
Let’s see. Taking into account his decisions in approving the mobility hub, destroying Burger Bob’s, giving excessive salaries to himself and other corrupt and incompetent employees, and recently selecting the garbage assistant to become his finance director, I have made a decision about him.
Rather than keep him on the payroll, he should be off the taxpayer’s back. Also, although he would be gone, he should return at least $2 million dollars to the City for the extensive damage he has done to the residents.
Of course it won’t happen, because the mayor and the commissioners are too weak and don’t know how to govern.
Well, soon an election is coming. The residents are strong and smart. City Hall will be cleansed.
This to me screams FISHY. Placing someone with no accounting or training in finance in charge of the City of Coral Gables budget has the appearance of something underhanded. Is she there so the Manager can manipulate her and the budget or twist it to his benefit? As a taxpayer and resident of Coral Gables I personally DEMAND that the Mayor and Commission deny this appointment and place someone who is trained, competent and neutral to oversee the budget. Lets see it Lago and the Commissioners. You all have shown total weakness is running this City and this is totally unacceptable.
The difference between GARBAGE COLLECTOR and CPA, CFO, COO, ENG, ATT, Financial Director, Major, Commissioner, Harvard MBA, City Manager, and so on add infinitum is that the City Beautiful will not live without GARBAGE COLLECTORS FOR ONE SINGLE DAY WITHOUT EVERYBODY NOTICEING but it can live indefinitely without the other named champs (meant Champs not Chimps) WITHOUT ANYBODY NOTICEING!
Thanks Heavens for GARBAGE COLLECTORS! Maurice Chevalier is singing from Heavens! They make our City Beautiful so pretty and healthy! Thank Heavens for GARBAGE COLLECTORS! They keep us healthy and happy!
The mayor and the 4 commissioners don’t have the courage to confront the tiny tyrant peter
iglesias and correct his bad decisions.
Please write an article of the disappointing reopening of the CG Country club?
From the get go there was a massive campaign against the previous tenants (I am not defending those if there were in breach of contract) but since the city took over we were told two things – prices will continue to be affordable and services will remain the same (or better). Here is the summary:
– Gym, while the city said the pool will be reopen in Sept (that was the pitch for new members) we are in mid-Nov and still not opened. All while raising the rates compared to membership costs with the previous owners.
– Le Park Cafe vs Liberty Cafe (previous name). To start with, even though it was said in Sept (Twitter) that opening times will be until 8pm or so, they still close at 5pm. And what about PRICES, let’s see how affordable are like the city said:
Liberty Cafe vs Le Parc
$2 vs $3.95 (coffe americano)
$6 vs $15 (omelette)
$3 vs $7 (fruit bowl)
This are just some examples. Not to mention we are still with the soft launch menu two month after.
Where are the affordable “resident prices”. Why a 100% price increase?
No city accountability?
Please report CG Insider!
This is ridiculos!!
For how long does the City put up with these bad decisions??
I have to agree with the tenor of this article. Based on the limited information about Ms. Rodriguez’s CV, she seems wholly unqualified for the position. There should be a base line accounting/finance/business background that seems to be missing in her formal education (degree in supervision and management) and her “on-the-job” training.
She is not a cpa and has minimal training and experience in finance. She has the job of the assistant director of the City’s GARBAGE. How could she think she could do the job as director of FINANCE? Maybe she thought the City’s GARBAGE and the City’s FINANCE are the same. She made a bad decision, accepting a position she isn’t trained for.
Also, the crooked city manager Peter Iglesias made a bad decision too, by offering her the job.
But, remember, he is not qualified either. He has made many bad decision. He doesn’t know the difference between GARBAGE and FINANCE.
First, best wishes in your new position. Second, it makes no difference who is promoted or moved around, as they are still controlled by the autocratic terrible City Manager Iglesias. Until the Mayor & Commissioners do their jobs and remove him and the City Attorney, it is business as usual.
Let’s hope she doesn’t buy bitcoins.